The 2016 GMC Sierra 1500 has 7 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 8,213,567 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 440 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the service brakes. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
AIR BAGS21V5040002021-07-01410,019 affected
Defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2016 GMC Sierra 1500, 2500, 3500, and Chevrolet Silverado 1500, 2500, and 3500 trucks. The roof-rail air bag (RRAB) inflator end cap may detach from the inflator, or the inflator sidewall may rupture.
Consequence
A separated inflator end cap or inflator rupture can allow compressed gas to escape, resulting in the end cap or other components being propelled into the vehicle, increasing the risk of injury or crash.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the left and right side RRAB modules, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters informing owners of the safety risk were mailed on August 18, 2021. Owners will receive a second notice when the remedy is available. Phase I owner notification letters were mailed on May 5, 2022. Phase…
AIR BAGS20V7360002020-11-259,279 affected
Defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2016 GMC Sierra 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and 2015 GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500, and Chevrolet Silverado 2500 and 3500 trucks. The roof-rail air bag (RRAB) inflator end cap may detach from the inflator.
Consequence
If the end cap separates from the inflator, the compressed gas will escape and the end cap can be propelled into the vehicle, increasing the risk of injury or a crash.
Remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the RRAB modules on the left and/or right side, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters were mailed on December 22, 2020. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-888-988-7267 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. Note: GM filed a new…
SERVICE BRAKES19V7610002019-10-24652,967 affected
Defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2020 Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, and GMC Yukon, and 2014-2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles equipped with a 5.3-liter engine, a 3.08-ratio rear axle and four-wheel drive. If a wheel-speed sensor fails, while the vehicle is traveling between 41…
Consequence
Unintended activation of the driveline-protection system will cause unintended braking on the wheel on the opposite side of the failed sensor, causing the vehicle to pull to one side unexpectedly, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the EBCM, free of charge. The recall began December 11, 2019. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-630-2438 or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N192261050.
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC19V6450002019-09-063,456,719 affected
Defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Cadillac Escalade, 2014-2018 Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra, 2015-2018 Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Yukon vehicles. The amount of vacuum created by the vacuum pump may decrease over time.
Consequence
As the vacuum level drops, the brake assist decreases, increasing braking effort, extending the distance required to stop the vehicle, thereby increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the Electronic Brake Control Module, free of charge. The recall began October 8, 2019. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-630-2438, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006 or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this…
SEAT BELTS17V4370002017-07-1040,683 affected
Defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 Buick Lacrosse and Chevrolet Spark EV, Caprice PPV and SS vehicles, 2014-2017 Buick Encore and Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles, 2015-2016 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Tahoe, Trax, Suburban and Silverado…
Consequence
A failure of the front air bags or seat belt pretensioners to deploy in the event of a crash necessitating deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.
Remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on August 4, 2017. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer…
AIR BAGS16V6510002016-09-083,640,162 affected
Defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015-2017 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD, 3500 HD, Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Sierra 2500 HD and 3500 HD, GMC Yukon, GMC Yukon XL, Cadillac Escalade and Cadillac Escalade ESV vehicles and 2014-2017 Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500, Trax, Caprice Police Pursuit…
Consequence
A failure of the front air bags or seat belt pretensioners to deploy in the event of a crash necessitating deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.
Remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on October 13, 2016. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer…
SUSPENSION16V2560002016-04-283,738 affected
Defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and 2016 Cadillac Escalade, Cadillac Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Sierra, GMC Yukon and GMC Yukon XL vehicles. The front upper control arms may have inadequate welds near the control arm bushing.
Consequence
Inadequate welds may allow the control arm to separate from the bushing, compromising steering and increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the left and right front upper control arms and realign the vehicle, free of charge. The recall began on May 18, 2016. Until the repairs have been made, owners are advised not to drive their vehicles. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020,…
Complaints by component
SERVICE BRAKES
99
8crashes9injuries
POWER TRAIN
82
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
51
8fires
STEERING
37
ENGINE
36
1crashes1fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
35
4fires
SUSPENSION
15
AIR BAGS
10
3crashes3injuries
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
8
VISIBILITY/WIPER
8
2fires
Total complaints440
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“I noticed a "ticking" noise a few years ago, it wasn't that bad and while taking my truck to the dealer for an oil change I ask about it and the representative told me that in this models that was normal. Since it wasn't that bad and the truck didn't show any problems at that time, I just decide…”
“The contact owns a 2016 gmc sierra. The contact stated that she had noticed the frame had rusted in two places. No warning lights were illuminated. The local dealer was contacted, who confirmed there were no open recalls. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not…”
“1- transmission issue, it’ll occasionally slip from 1-2 gear and engine rpm’s will shoot up making it when you release the gas pedal it’ll kick into second gear it’ll also do minor kicks into other gears (8l90 transmission) 2- breaks issue, unsure of what the problem is but at very low…”
“1- transmission issue, it’ll occasionally slip from 1-2 gear and engine rpm’s will shoot up making it when you release the gas pedal it’ll kick into second gear it’ll also do minor kicks into other gears (8l90 transmission) 2- breaks issue, unsure of what the problem is but at very low…”
“While traveling at low speeds in parking lots and in the operation of parking, my 2016 gmc sierra 1500 gets a hard brake pedal that goes to the floor but I have no brakes. I almost hit a person in a local grocery store parking lot, at the bank driving up to the atm, and I almost lost my truck over…”
“The other night, I was backing into a parking spot at the market. As I slowed I noticed the brake pedal was getting harder to depress and it felt as though I was going to back into the car behind me. It took more effort to stop the truck.”
“The contact owns a 2016 gmc sierra 1500. The contact stated that while idling in the drive-through at a pharmacy, the contact noticed smoke coming from the rear window, and the rear window shattered. The contact stated that the defroster was activated at the time of the failure. There was no…”
“The contact owns a 2016 gmc sierra 1500. The contact stated that while idling in the drive-through at a pharmacy, the contact noticed smoke coming from the rear window, and the rear window shattered. The contact stated that the defroster was activated at the time of the failure. There was no…”
Defect investigations
InvestigationPE18012 Opened 2018-11-20 · closed 2022-04-10
Brake Vacuum Pump Failure
On November 20, 2018, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened PE18-012 to investigate instances of sudden onset of a hard brake pedal that could result in extended stopping distance due to an issue with the brake assist vacuum pump in model year (MY) 2014 through 2016 GMC Sierra 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado…
InvestigationPE18012 Opened 2018-11-20 · closed 2022-04-10
Brake Vacuum Pump Failure
On November 20, 2018, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened PE18-012 to investigate instances of sudden onset of a hard brake pedal that could result in extended stopping distance due to an issue with the brake assist vacuum pump in model year (MY) 2014 through 2016 GMC Sierra 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado…
InvestigationPE18012 Opened 2018-11-20 · closed 2022-04-10
Brake Vacuum Pump Failure
On November 20, 2018, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened PE18-012 to investigate instances of sudden onset of a hard brake pedal that could result in extended stopping distance due to an issue with the brake assist vacuum pump in model year (MY) 2014 through 2016 GMC Sierra 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2016 GMC Sierra 1500 as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.